The reasons given for the refusal of his visa application included that
• “A metal guitarist with internationally recognized records could be expected to have collaborated with renowned metal bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden or Disturbed. There is no evidence in the application that it is the case.”
• “There is also no evidence that Benjamin Baret has won any international awards by being a guitarist or a musician in general.”

This was the government's official response??!! Interesting wording, if true. I've had no problem getting work visas for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and Netherlands, and I doubt I qualify as having won international awards or worked with many renowned artists.

Something's not quite right.

But honestly, is an online petition going to sway the government's position on this?